When it comes to derby football Luke Parker is unquestioned royalty. Not just in the Sydney Derby, in which he is the undeniable “King”, but in the entire AFL. So much so that across the greater AFL populous he should be known as a “Grand Chancellor”.
Looking forward to his 24th Sydney Derby on Saturday night when the Sydney Swans will meet GWS at Giants Stadium, Parker is a five-time winner of the Brett Kirk Medal as best afield in games between the two clubs.
Only one other player among 1029 players to have appeared in an AFL derby outside Victoria can boast the same thing. Port Adelaide’s Robbie Gray won the Showdown Medal against Adelaide five times.
Statistically, Parker can claim the overall ‘Grand Chancellor’ title on a countback on the basis that he also shares the all-time record of 15 Brownlow Medal votes in derby football with ex-Swans teammate Josh Kennedy. Gray polled only 12 votes.
Parker and Gray sit one clear at the top of the all-time derby medal leaderboard from Gold Coast’s Touk Miller, who picked up his fourth against Brisbane last weekend after winning what is known as the Marcus Ashcroft Medal in 2016, ’18 and ‘22, and ex-Fremantle midfielder Paul Hasleby, who won the WA derby medal named in honour of Ross Glendinning and Ben Allan against West Coast four times in 2002-04, and ‘09.
There are 13 three-time medal winners across the derbies of Queensland, NSW, SA, and WA – Sydney’s Lance Franklin and Kieren Jack, Brisbane’s Dayne Beams, Adelaide’s Mark Riccuito and Sam Jacobs, Port Adelaide’s Travis Boak and Josh Francou, Fremantle’s Lachie Neale, Michael Barlow and Matthew Pavlich, and West Coast’s Josh Kennedy, Shannon Hurn and Chris Judd.
Essendon’s James Hird and Collingwood’s Scott Pendlebury are three-time winners of the medal in the annual Anzac Day clash at the MCG.
Parker has won the Kirk Medal in 2016, 2020, 2021 and 2022 (twice). And if Toby Greene hadn’t kicked a last-minute goal to give the Giants a one-point win in Sydney Derby XXV at the SCG in Round 7 this year, Parker would almost certainly have six Kirk Medals. He was second in the voting that night after a game-high 33 possessions and 11 clearances.
The veteran co-captain is one of five multiple winners of the Kirk Medal, with Franklin (3), Jack (3), ex-teammate Josh Kennedy (2) and GWS’ Callan Ward (2) and has been similarly consistent in three finals against GWS in which the medal is not awarded.
One-time Sydney Derby medal winners are Sydney’s Callum Mills, Dan Hannebery and Nick Malceski, and GWS’ Shane Mumford, Heath Shaw, Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper.
Statistically, Parker’s derby record is nothing short of astonishing, and underlines further why he is the No.1 man in the very genuine and still growing rivalry between the Swans and the Giants.
- His 23 Sydney derby appearances heads the list from ex-teammate Kennedy and Ward (22), GWS’ Lachie Whitfield (20), Sydney’s Jake Lloyd and Dane Rampe and GWS’ Nick Haynes (19).
- His 16 Brownlow Medal votes in the derby, equal with Kennedy’s 16, is top of the list from Sydney’s Lance Franklin (15). Mumford, a Swans premiership player and the only player to wear the colours of the Swans and the Giants in a derby, is next with eight votes – six votes in red and white and two in orange – from Kieren Jack (7), Ward (6), GWS’s Haynes and Hannebery (5).
- His 549 derby possessions is a derby record from Kennedy (548), Ward (517), Lloyd (467), Whitfield (438) and GWS’ Josh Kelly (429) and Stephen Coniglio (410). He has had a derby-record six 30-possession games, with Kennedy (4), Jarrad McVeigh and Kieren Jack (3).
- His 112 derby tackles is a derby record from Kennedy (107), Ward and Coniglio (95), Mumford (82), Kieren Jack (81) and Hannebery (71).
- His 14 derby goal assists is a derby record from Kennedy (12), Franklin (10), Lloyd, Jack, Tom Papley, Will Hayward and GWS’ Harry Himmelberg (9).
- His 13 derby wins is second, behind only Kennedy (14) and equal with Rampe (13). Franklin (11), Jack (11) and Hannebery (11) are next from Lloyd and Sydney’s Heath Grundy, Sam Reid and McVeigh (9), Toby Greene (9) and Haynes (9).
- His 102 derby clearances is third all-time in derby behind Kennedy (143) and Ward (114), and ahead of Coniglio (94).
- His equal career-best five goals in derby #23 at the Olympic Stadium in 2022 is the equal derby record with Lance Franklin (four times) and Kurt Tippett. And he even ranks sixth in all-time derby goals with 19, behind Franklin (50), GWS’ Jeremy Cameron (33) and Greene (32), Papley (25) and Isaac Heeney (22), and equal with Himmelberg (19).
The Swans, rejuvenated after three wins on the trot against the Bulldogs at the SCG (2 points), Fremantle in Perth (29 points) and Essendon at Marvel Stadium (2 points) to climb from 15th on the ladder to 10th, will face a GWS side on an even longer winning streak.
The Giants have climbed from 15th to sixth with seven wins in a row in six different cities. It started in Round 13 when they beat North Melbourne by 28 points in Hobart. Since then, it’s been Fremantle by 70 points at Giants Stadium, Melbourne by two points in Alice Springs, Hawthorn by 13 points at Giants Stadium, Adelaide by 14 points in Adelaide, Gold Coast by 40 points in Canberra and last weekend the Bulldogs by five points in Ballarat.
The Swans will take an aggregate 15-10 record into Sydney Derby XXVI on Saturday. Sydney’s record is 6-5 at the SCG, 4-1 at Stadium Australia and 3-3 at Giants Stadium, and in three games played interstate due to Covid, they are 0-1 against the Giants in Launceston, 1-0 in Perth and 1-0 on the Gold Coast.
The Swans have kicked 100 points against the Giants 11 times while they have done likewise in reverse just four times. Sydney’s aggregate derby percentage is 126.4.
Sydney. has won four times after trailing at quarter-time, three times after trailing at halftime and twice after trailing at three-quarter time. And they’ve lost after leading at each of the breaks twice, twice and three times.
The Swans’ highest score and biggest win against the Giants came in Sydney Derby IV at the SCG in 2013. They won by 129 points: 24.27 (171) to 5.12 (42). The leading goal-kickers were an unlikely quartet: Kurt Tippett, Tom Mitchell, Mike Pyke and Jesse White kicked three apiece.
The Swans’ lowest score and biggest loss against the Giants was in Sydney Derby XVI – the 2018 elimination final at the SCG. It was 4.6 (30) to 10.19 (79).
Harry Cunningham was the Swans’ first derby debutant in Sydney Derby I in 2012, and has since been followed by Dane Rampe, James Rose, Lewis Melican, Zac Foot and Angus Sheldrick.
Jarrad McVeigh has held the derby possession record of 37 possessions since Sydney Derby II in 2012.
The Swans have played 80 different players in the derby, while GWS has used 99.
John Longmire has coached Sydney in every derby for a 15-10 record, while GWS have played under four coaches. Kevin Sheedy went 0-4 in 2012-13, Leon Cameron 6-10 from 2014-22, Mark McVeigh went 0-1 as caretaker coach in 2022 and Adam Kingsley is 1-0 after his win in Round 7 this year.
